Shoreline Dumpling Crawl

Anniversary Edition

We are celebrating 5 years of marriage this year, and in true our family style we decided the best way to celebrate was a self paced, self created dumpling crawl along the CT shoreline. Since it is 5 years of marriage we thought it only fitting we hit 5 places. We started in New Haven and worked our way out to Stamford. We had a few additional stops along the way so I will list the full agenda so if you want to steal our plans you can! Read on to hear what we ate and where they ranked!

Chef Jiang- New Haven

A go to favorite of ours for many things they make. But for the purpose of the crawl, and pacing ourselves we stuck to one order of their wonton in chili oil. One of my generally favorite dishes, and Chef Jiang makes a great version. It’s not just hot, it has so many other lovely flavors, but you are warned they are HOT.

KungFu Kitchen- New Haven

This was actually a new spot for us, but can definitely say we will be back and getting a lot more of their menu options. This is a small chain with locations in NY, CT, MA, and FL. They were on many lists as I researched the top 5 for us to try. We kept it classic with an order of pork soup dumplings. We took these to go to enjoy at the beach, and even with traveling these stayed perfect. Their packaging is super lux and we plan to get back there for their hand pulled noodles!

Pit Stop! Our first two stops we took to go and brought them to be enjoyed at the beach in West Haven. We have a beautiful sunny day, and this was great to get to the ocean to start off the day!

Dumpling House- Milford

My parents found this spot earlier this year and we have been frequenting it since. Definitely feels like a mom and pop shop, lots of authentic options and classic favorites. This stop we decided to eat in and relax for a bit. This also meant we ordered a few more things. We got a sesame/peanut bun, rice cake with Chinese sausage, and dumplings in chili oil. Just the dumplings will get included in the ranking, but we love rice cake dishes and this one is so perfect. The Chinese sausage is delectable and the addition of crisp veggies, we ate it up so fast! The sesame buns were that perfect almost sweet treat. Fluffy buns, sweet/salty filling. They were delicious. I love going to try new things when we go here, but I am very loyal to their rice cake dish.

Pit stop! We were ready for a sweet treat and little bev, so we headed to Natural Kitchen in Milford for a bubble tea and mousse cake!

Himalaya Sono– Norwalk

After lot’s of Chinese dumplings we felt it was time to shake it up, have a little different flavor profile for a minute. We also were planning to see a movie and would be bringing them along for the show. We stopped at Himalaya Sono in Norwalk, again crazy high ratings but our first time here. The street they are on is so cute and full of interesting shops. We placed our order and bobbed around the street for the 15 minutes until it was ready. We got the Momo set which included 2 of each flavor (chicken, beef, veggie). We got the fried version, which I didn’t realize meant deep fried, but into the purse they went and we were off to the pictures!

Pit Stop! We saw the new Spiderman: Brand New Day (I know crazy romantic for our anniversary). I love the Tom Holland Spiderman universe, this movie was good but lacked some of the humor I usually find. But this was the first movie we’ve seen in a theater since before having our baby, so it’s all good!

Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings– Stamford

Last but certainly not least we made our way to Stamford for Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings. Another small chain with locations all over the country, several of which in NY, and a 4.9 rating on google with over 6,000 reviews. I mean, we had to see what the fuss was about. Sometimes with chains like this, they may get high ratings for the wrong reasons. I am happy to report that was not the case. The only slight negative was the drinks were $20+, which its been a minute since I had a cocktail and with those prices I guess its gonna be quite a while! Since this was now dinner we ordered the classic pork soup dumplings, the truffle pork soup dumplings, pan fried pork buns, and Braised Beef Noodle Soup. We did not finish it all, but a gallant effort was made!

SO, what was our favorite?

1. Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings
   • I am so happy to report they are planning to open locations closer to us, because I would be finding myself doing the extra long drive out to Stamford for these dumplings. The soup dumplings were truly some of the best I have ever had. Including those from NY, Boston, and Seattle. But the stand out was the Pan Fried Pork Buns. These were heavenly. My husband, prior to being my husband, would deem particularly good dishes I made as “I am going to marry you” level. Well let’s just say we were both ready to pop the question to whomever made those buns! They have a lot of dumpling varieties both in soup form and classic, and can’t wait to work my way through their menu. But always getting the pork buns!
2. KungFu Kitchen
   • I think it is a serious testament to their quality that the soup dumplings traveled well. A notoriously hard item to take to go, some restaurants won’t even let you. But there was nothing lost having these to go. I think that these could have outplaced the Nan Xiang if we ate in, so we will be going back soon to compare.
3. Dumpling House
   • Listen, if this was a rice cake off they may win. But going off of dumplings, these were middle of the pack! Their dumplings are so soft and tender, and their chili oil is hot, but well flavored. We could get several orders and enjoy all day. Go eat in with a group and try a bunch of options! The sesame buns were a perfect sweet way to end!
4. Himalaya Sono
   • I don’t want to hear this isn’t a fair comparison cuz they are different from everyone else. I don’t care, this is my dumpling crawl and I am gonna go where I want! Next time maybe there will be a ravioli or pierogi included (I know a few places). Each of the Momos in the set was as good as the next. I liked each filling equally and with the dipping sauce, they just were such a good palate cleanse! I can’t wait to go back and try their Thali dish, one of our favorite options not a lot of places have!
5. Chef Jiang
   • Probably still number 1 in our hearts and our most common place to go out for Chinese food. Their chili wontons is what started the idea of this dumpling crawl and forever will have a fond place in my heart! They have so many great items on the menu, many of which we haven’t even got to try yet. If you go, get the chili wontons for me!

So there you have it! What places should we have added? What area of CT also has great dumplings?